tracks

As the acequias stay dry for another month, the importance of community and water becomes so much more apparent. Corrales community and water are so intimately connected on all levels, but only speak to their relationship to wildlife. But remember the connection of water, nature and people are also woven into the fabric of the tales and pictures you see here...

This turtle is a red eared slider (you can see the red patch just behind the eye) these turtles are feral pets that have made their homes here now. This one has found a new sun bathing perch on a tree stump that was thrown into the ditch during the winter when there was no water. It is getting gradually more used to people and hopefully it can be left alone for everyone to enjoy.

This hole was likely formed from a dabbling duck's beak. The fine clay particles stay suspended for a long time and show where the ducks have been and how long ago, especially in the still water. This is slowly moving water, so the dirturbance in the dirt can still be seen in the hollow.

here we can see footprints of mallard ducks and humans. The ducks like to come out on the side and forage for the extra bait left by the fishermen on the banks.

Other tracks are also appearing, many mamals are now traversing the ditches on their different errands. I don't recognise these broad, square shaped paws though.

this pile of sand looks odd, but I as yet have no explanation for their appearance in the clear ditch.......as yet.

Many areas on the ditch are showing these crossing points where...something... is going down one side and up the other of the steep sides. You can also see the tracks under the water. Some of these tracks are coyotes, but not all of them.

Because of the dragging in the water, I suspect these tracks are from a porcupine, which I hear a good swimmers.

This animal had long legs, so I think it was a coyote. There are many around right now, establishing territory and sorting out things in a songdog sort of way.

This songdog was acting oddly, out in the day, lying in an open field. He blended in well, but when I spotted him, he did not sprint away, and did not try to hide.

Now, look closer...at it's lower belly. That is a big wound there, I'm guessing from a rip from trying to go through a wire fence. He looks to be in quite a lot of distress in this long range shot. This area recently had a lot of old trees ripped out with heavy machinery, I'm guessing one of them was hiding a coyote den.

This picure did not come out very well, but birds are still hard to photograph. Still, it does show how birds also like old woods as habitat.

This old fence post shows how the wood rots close to the moist ground. The same process is also why old trees fall over as their dead cores hollow out.

Of course, right now there are many younger trees of many species which the birds are very happy to use, I think this is a sparrow.

This bird gave me trouble figuring out. I think it is a great blue heron. I noticed the more solitary ravens have appeared on the lightpoles up on the desert side of Corrales, also.

The doves continue to proliferate in the bosque, I noticed they forage on the ground in the early morning, moving into the trees as more people come out of their boxes to walk their dogs.

these gnats are reproducing exponentially. Last year I saw mostly march flies, but everything is different this year.